Aided to an extent by a monumentally ponderous France, whose win over England at the start of this Six Nations looks ever more like a lucky break, Wales retained a faint hope of retaining the champions’ title, though points difference is currently against them. Two of their talismanic stars, George North and Sam Warburton, came up trumps with a try in each half on a madcap evening that kept a near capacity Cardiff crowd entertained if at times just a little baffled.

Wales’s three points in the morale-sapping loss to Ireland a
fortnight ago was their lowest Six Nations score since 2000. But
they soon got motoring in an eventful opening quarter that ended
with the back-to-back champions of 2012 and 2013 ahead 14-3.

Perhaps it was a kick up the backside to have lost their
second-row Alun Wyn Jones to a foot infection that flared up on
Thursday evening. Though the position appears temporarily cursed –
Wales have had Bradley Davies, Ryan Jones, Ian Evans and Luke
Charteris variously injured or suspended since November – the
effect appeared minimal.

Leigh Halfpenny kicked them into a third-minute lead – a
nerve-settler nudged confidently from just inside the French half –
before the first try arrived from a line-out.

Tit-for-tat kicking led to Hugo Bonneval finding touch 40 metres
or so from the French goal-line. In an echo of a try by the injured
Scott Williams against Italy here in the win with which Wales
kicked off this Six Nations, the tap-down from Taulupe Faletau was
not ideal for Rhys Webb. But Jamie Roberts smashed into the French
defence on the gainline and, outside him, George North – starting
at centre in the absence of Williams and Jon Davies – worked a
clever inside pass to Liam Williams before Halfpenny chipped
long down the left. Brice Dulin scrambled to cover but, in a comic
pratfall, the full-back was clattered on the head by his team-mate
and lost the ball, allowing North to dot down his 16th try in 38
Tests.

Halfpenny missed the conversion, but he and Jean-Marc Doussain
popped over a penalty each before the French scrum-half missed a
30-metre sitter in the 24th minute. France also had a possible try
chalked off for a knock-on in the tackle by their captain, Pascal
Papé.

The scrums were sliding around on an unpredictable pitch but
Halfpenny’s footing remained hearteningly certain for Wales. The
diminutive full-back with the Schwarzenegger biceps jabbed over two
more penalties before half-time, following one by Jules Plisson who
had taken over the tee for France, and Wales led 20-6.

France looked one-paced on the move, lacking a trick; it comes
to something when the most eye-catching French ball-carrier was a
prop, Nicolas Mas. With Webb distributing snappily and Warburton
fitter than earlier in the Championship, there was more time and
space for Rhys Priestland at fly-half.

But the referee Alain Rolland had been on the case of both packs
for not scrummaging properly and he sent Mas and the otherwise
energetic Gethin Jenkins to the sin-bin after a collapse in the
51st minute. Cue fun and games on a Wales put-in, with Liam
Williams called from the wing to the blindside flank, effectively
enough as the ball was cleared. The French, who had just mucked up
a possible try when Mathieu Bastareaud was cut down by Priestland,
were not laughing, though. The glare given by Papé to Bonneval when
the wing completely misread a pass by the skipper would have frozen
the breath of a dragon.

Plisson had missed a long-range penalty on 47 minutes; ditto
Halfpenny after 59. Then came Wales’s coruscating second try. A
ruck offence earned Louis Picamoles a yellow card, Wales kicked for
a line-out in the French 22 and with quick ball from Warburton at
the tail and off the top, Roberts smashed through midfield. The
ruck was quick and Warburton doubled round to dive for the line,
stretching to make the crucial grounding.

Together with Halfpenny’s conversion Wales were out of sight,
result-wise, with 15 minutes still to play, and though improving
their points difference for the overall title race would have been
worth keeping the foot down for, the scoring was done.